How can I bypass the previous owners password on my iPad?

I bought a second hand iPad 4th gen the other day. It looked to be ready for me to set up the iPad, but when I got homw to try it, there was a screen saying, "This iPad is currently linked to an Apple ID (S*****@hotmail.com). Sign in with the Apple ID that was used to set up this iPad." So my question is, how can I get by this? I don't have the sellers information, so I can't contact him.

I sympathize with you. I'm in the same predicament right now. The person I purchased my iPad from won't respond to my queries. Everyone online will act like you are a thief. If half of them used their brains for a minute, maybe they could come up with one of many scenarios where you would be legitimately locked out of an iPad you legally purchased. In my case, the previous owner left all their personal items on the iPad and I went to erase all contents. It asked me for the Apple ID, I figured it was asking to return checked out books or something. Second time it didn't ask me and reformatted the iPad, but now I'm stuck at activation.

To answer JimHdk's question, Apple doesn't even show you the full email address. It's literally shown as S******@hotmail.com so you can't email that person.

This is a horrible idea on Apple's part. They should have made it painstakingly clear that you can't even "reformat" and activate the iPad without this ID. Especially since iOS7 is relatively young and no previous version of iOS had this feature. This will hurt legitimate users more than thieves. Even if, from all the people affected, only 10% are legitimate users, that's still a huge number. Apple should give us some other way to resolve this issue.

When you call Apple or go to the Apple store, they will not help you. All you can do is ask the previous owner to call Apple at 8002752273 and have their Apple ID reset. Then the previous owner must still sign into iCloud and remove the device from their account. Good luck.

I can't believe what a horrible policy this is. People forget their IDs all the time. Sometimes people don't check the email addresses they use for buying/selling until they're in the market again. People can move, so even if you purchased it at someone's house, you might be out of luck. Because this is a new thing in iOS 7, people might be uncomfortable and think you're trying to phish information out of them. Also, many people, once they have their money, they don't have incentive to spend effort and time to help you. It just doesn't make sense and hurts the resale value. Non-fans who might want to casually buy a second hand iPad to see what it's all about (my case) will be turned off. Can't believe at one point I thought Microsoft was unfair. How can Apple even legally do this?

Just but the iPad in Dfu mode. Hold down the home and power button for 15 seconds connected to the iTunes. iTunes will detect an iPad in recovery mode. Restore the iPad this will delete all the content in the iPad making it like a brand new device. Once it's finished you can sign in with your apples and use iCloud etc.

There are places to buy used Apple products where you'd never run into dark corners of Craigslist. Like Amazon, where sellers don't get their money until the buyer is satisfied (or after a couple of weeks have passed, because buyer's can be idiots).

So, if you purchased your iPad legally and ethically, you wouldn't be complaining. I personally have zero sympathy for all of you. It protects the vast majority of iPad users who don't want their stuff to end up on Craigslist.

Robertzamora19, that doesn't work in iOS7. Those good ol days are gone. Google around, you'll see. Starting with iOS7, this information is actually stored on Apple's servers. When you 'erase all contents' and start over again with the iPad setup, iOS7 will connect to Apple, check if this iPad is registered under anyone's Apple ID, and, if so, will ask for that Apple ID and password before activating the iPad. DFU restore will not bypass this step.

This is a new security feature that is expected to reduce iOS device theft. You may have thought you bought a legitimate iPad. But not being able to contact the "previous owner," or a "previous owner" not responding to emails is an indication that the device may have been stolen.

There is no way around entering the Apple ID and password of the previous owner.

Unfortunately, I had to unnecessarily hassle the seller again and again to get it activated. I purchased my iPad very legally and ethically, thank you very much. Unless you define a face-to-face transaction an "unethical". Get out of Starbucks and go live real life. That's just my point-of-view, though.

I say even if one honest buyer doesn't get to use their iPad because of this policy, that's too much. I like freedom. I don't want to have to pay eBay or Amazon a cut to sell my crippled Apple products. If you are happy being controlled like a drone by these companies, that's your choice. However, some of us don't want every part of our life managed by mega-corporations. Live and learn: I'll be staying away from Apple products for a while.

I don't quite understand what you are complaining about. A seller of an iPad can erase and restore the iPad to new. Yes, they do have to enter their Apple ID and password to accomplish this but once it's done, the iPad can be set up as new without any hassle. So what's the problem?

I have also a same problem with my ipad mini. I just bought it yesterday from a second hand store. And its in a starting setup mode. I bought it, now im having a problem with the apple id becouse i dont know who's the previous owner. Os there any way that i can remove it so i can use my own id? I tried to take back my ipad 2 bcoz i just swap it and add a little amount of money to get this ipad mini. But they said, they already sold my ipad. So theres no way they can give it back to me. Pleasw help.

If I was to say to a car.company 'Hey, I have lost the electronic key. Please give me a new one.' and they gave me one without bothering to check my identity they would be howled at for stupidity. If somebody could just roll up to a locksmith and get keys for your house without proof of ID you would be furious.

This is Apple's answer to that IN RESPONSE TO CUSTOMER FEEDBACK (AFAIK) that they needed to make stolen iPads harder to pass on.

So you say Apple customers are going to move to Android/Windows tablets because it is easier to fence a stolen one. This suggests they are idiots. I don't think they are, or at least most of them. Where would that leave you?

'Crippled' because you can't just take it and set it up without a security feature to try and ensure you are the real owner and discourage theft. Yeah, really treating peope like slaves.

Related Articles

This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only.
Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the efficacy of any proposed solutions on the community forums.
Apple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site. All postings and use of the content on this site are subject to the Apple Support Communities Terms of Use.